Specialized Flux Expert/Elite

pdw

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Does anyone know anything about the new lights from Specialized? On the face of it, they look pretty interesting:

True vehicle lighting for your bicycle. The super-wide and super-bright beam pattern puts ligt where you need it to see and be seen, day or night.
* Powerful down-firing Cree LED w/ patented reflector for bright/wide automotive style beam
* Raised centre reflector for high beam feature that can be controlled w/ included remote
* Internal rechargeable 5200mAhr Lithium Ion batteries
* Patent pending, all aluminium mounting system centres unit with stem for easy light removal
* 3 night time modes w/ outputs between 1,200lms / 400lms and runtimes between 1.75hrs / 6hrs
* Up to 16hrs runtime in daytime flash mode, seen 1/3rd mile or 1/2 km away in full daylight

Some pictures here: http://enduro-mtb.com/en/news-new-products-from-specialized-stepping-up-to-27-5/

Obviously it remains to be seen if the beam is any good, but potentially a worthy replacement for the Phillips LBL.
 

Steve K

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it certainly appears to be well designed. Some info on the beam pattern would be nice. They show it on a mountain bike, and mention that it puts the light on the trail, so it's reasonable to assume that it is designed for trail use and not for the road.

It'll still be hard to sell it at $275 when the inexpensive Chinese lights are available. The reliability of the Specialized light should be much better, though.
 

Derek Dean

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Great looking light. I love the addition of the "high beam" feature. I wonder if the internal lithium-ion batteries are easily replaced 18650 cells, or some type of proprietary pack? I'm happy to see more manufacturers finally coming out with lights designed specifically for bicycles, with beams tailored for that type of use. pdw, thanks for the link!
 

pdw

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They show it on a mountain bike, and mention that it puts the light on the trail, so it's reasonable to assume that it is designed for trail use and not for the road.

Actually, I think that review just happens to be on an MTB site. It was included in Specialized's 2015 launch which included both road and MTB stuff and the marketing blurb that I quoted above suggests that they were thinking of road use.

It'll still be hard to sell it at $275 when the inexpensive Chinese lights are available. The reliability of the Specialized light should be much better, though.

Yeah, and assuming the beam is up to scratch then I think it's filling an obvious gap in the market, especially if Specialized throw a bit of marketing behind why dedicated beam shapes are better for on-road use. Will be interesting to see...
 

bshanahan14rulz

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I had a bicycle following me the other night. I couldn't see out my windshield with him behind me, the glare was so great! Not that my windshield is clean, but I don't have this problem even with trucks with HIDs in their halogen fixtures.

Is a road beam a fairly sought-after feature for bike lights? It shouldn't be so complicated, although it would be slightly less efficous.
 

pdw

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Sought after? Probably not. Needed? Yes.

It's still only relatively recently that lights that are bright enough to be a nuisance have become easily affordable, and I think that many cyclists don't realise how annoying LED lights can be. Also, I think that most people don't realise how much more effectively you can light up a road with a suitable beam, compared to a normal symmetrical beam.

Building a reflector that creates a decent beam pattern isn't entirely trivial, and probably more importantly, can't easily be miniaturised, leading to relatively bulky lights. This is one of the reasons why I think that the Specialized light looks promising: they're quite big and ugly which hopefully is a result of not sacrificing function for form.

If done properly, the result can be a very efficient light as it's not throwing the majority of the photons into the tree tops.
 

Derek Dean

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I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder, because I feel they are quite lovely lights, mainly from knowing they house a specially designed reflector system capable of producing a car headlight like beam.

I bicycle commute to work and usually come home late at night, and at least once a night on the bike path there is some idiot coming towards me with his new high powered LED lights blazing so bright that I literally can't see the trail and have to stop until he goes by.

I've been using a Fenix L2D up to know, but I cut a special shield for it that keeps the glare for oncoming cyclists to a minimum...... and I just ordered a B&M IQ Premium which looks to have a beautifully shaped beam for lighting up only the roadway.

In any case, I hope somebody here will get one of these Specialized lights and do a review on it. It's looks great.
 

PaulRivers

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Apparently it's available in the UK for purchase now, but my local dealer in the US says they don't expect it until Dec here.

The UK dealer put up a video, but unfortunately, I think it's still inconclusive whether it's semi-shaped beam or a strictly shaped beam -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5WDUWm6eLM
 

Marcturus

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Some info on the beam pattern would be nice.
Specialized Flux Expert/Elite:
http://static1.cyclestore.co.uk/products/multiimages/65292_2.jpg
http://static1.cyclestore.co.uk/products/multiimages/65291_4.jpg
I really can't comment, I'm waiting for a shape expert from mtbr to explain these to us.
rolleye11.gif


Flux Expert Headlight spec sheet:
http://www.specialized.com/OA_MEDIA/pdf/FluxExpertHeadlightSpecSheetv3.pdf
 
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Steve K

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Pictures don't tell the whole story, but that doesn't look bad at all. Good for Specialized!
 

Slack

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I work in a UK Specialized dealer and we have just had the lights come into stock. I was so impressed with the beam pattern as an all year round cyclist and commuter I bought one straight away. If there is anything you'd like to know about the lights I will try and help.
 

PaulRivers

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Specialized Flux Expert/Elite:
http://static1.cyclestore.co.uk/products/multiimages/65292_2.jpg
http://static1.cyclestore.co.uk/products/multiimages/65291_4.jpg
I really can't comment, I'm waiting for a shape expert from mtbr to explain these to us. :whistle:

Thanks for the pics!

Doesn't look very promising though. :-( The Ixon IQ Premium in comparison (this pic probably doesn't demonstrate the lumen output difference, but it does demonstrate the beam patter difference). Notice that the first seems to be taken on a bike trail width path (about 1 car width wide), the second on a regular suburban side street (2.5 car widths wide or so).

Flux Expert:
65291_4.jpg


Ixon Iq Premium:
attachment.php
 
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Marcturus

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If there is anything you'd like to know about the lights I will try and help.
Slack, welcome to CPF!
I presume you got the Expert version? Ask Specialized to release more of the photometric beam data, they must be mighty proud of it, I'm sure they can't wait to share some intensity plots. In the meantime, do a thorough review yourself. If you are not the boss, ask him to pay you for the work and the link he gets. Compare the beams to the Philips LBL80=SR80, separate as well as on the same photo. Record distances and settings. A wobbly camera cutting off an overexposed white blob somewhere inside a stuffed garage: hardly worth publishing. IF you shoot a video, do it properly, and don't put it exclusively on youtube where they melt down the quality.

Derek said:
I wonder if the internal lithium-ion batteries are easily replaced 18650 cells, or some type of proprietary pack?
If proprietary, sorry, Slack, you'll have to open the housing and find out what they are. Ask Specialized to pick up the tab.

Which Cree leds? type, tint, ...

What are the respective replacement part #'s for the transparent front lenses?

Shouldn't the extra mounts be a bit cheaper, even in case they really are "precision machined?"
 
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mechBgon

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Actually, I think that review just happens to be on an MTB site. It was included in Specialized's 2015 launch which included both road and MTB stuff and the marketing blurb that I quoted above suggests that they were thinking of road use.

That makes sense to me. For off-roading, a cutoff-type beam is not the right tool for the job. I've tried light trail riding with cutoff-type headlights and it's scary not being able to see up the other side of a dip in the trail. For off-roading, a flood beam or at least a beam with lots of fill light is the way to go.

On the topic of high beams, I wonder if they could just move the position of the LED relative to the reflector, using a mechanical actuator of some sort. Similar to a cable-operated fork lockout.
 

Steve K

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...
On the topic of high beams, I wonder if they could just move the position of the LED relative to the reflector, using a mechanical actuator of some sort. Similar to a cable-operated fork lockout.

there's a different approach being tried in the automotive industry... use a matrix of LEDs, and power up the LEDs needed to create the desired beam pattern....

http://www.electronicsweekly.com/ne...es-step-imaging-led-matrix-headlamps-2014-10/

a quick quote from the article:
"With the advent of LEDs, headlamp developers have been trying to remove the mechanical shutters, and replace the light source with a matrix of LEDs. The idea is that the car's computer will decide the beam pattern required on the road moment by moment, and that shape would be lit up in super-bright pixels and projected onto the road."

seems like an expensive way to do things, but with large production volumes and time, the cost will come down.
 

Marcturus

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Still haven't found a proper review of the Specialized Flux lights but did find this promotional video on Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H18_5BQl4QE
In the only sequence where you could potentially estimate the dimension of the beam, they seem to have aimed it at about a car's length. Sure fits the estimated riding and mental processing speed of the target audience.

The others are still waiting for Specialized to prove that this thing is NOT an expensive, rattling piece of junk with questionable high beam intensity:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuicutsEUw4
 

HRHPrinceCharles

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The others are still waiting for Specialized to prove that this thing is NOT an expensive, rattling piece of junk with questionable high beam intensity:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuicutsEUw4

The play in the mount looks bad. I found a review by a guy in the UK below. He also mentions the rattle when riding. I was really hoping that this would be a great road light but looks too flawed for the money they are asking. I have a modded Philips Saferide 60 dynamo light with XP-L leds, driver and external battery. Large emitter means cutoff not as sharp as original but puts a good 800 lumens down and don't think the Specialized Flux will eclipse that. Disappointing as hoping for a light with beam cutoff and switchable main beam in a single unit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcyrAP08yEs
 

Marcturus

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I'm glad Derek Dean started a fresh thread for his review, and I'm sure Eric Lee at Specialized is, too.

To round up the out-of control discussion that went on here, I directly put some info from Derek's Specialized Flux Expert review underneath the questions we were having before helpful "Eric explained" --


Q: internal lithium-ion batteries easily replaced 18650 cells, or some type of proprietary pack?
A: 2 x 18650, "non-user-replaceable"

Q: Which Cree leds? type, tint, ...
A: 3 x Cree XP-G2 R5, cool white

Q: What are the respective replacement part #'s for the transparent front lenses?
A: Eric didn't tell -- Take good care of the "acrylic with anti-reflective coating"

Q: Shouldn't the extra mounts be a bit cheaper, even in case they really are "precision machined?"
A: Eric didn't tell -- Derek would agree that it's "certainly not an issue if you use only one bike"

Q: is it an expensive, rattling piece of junk?
A: No way, Derek stated that his was rock-solid during his impressive loan period. From my own, modest experience with these types of connections used in a salt and sand environment, it still might just be the wrong sort of mechanical connection for the job. Maybe a rocket scientist from the mainland can help to sort out what might have been the cause for the loose connection experienced elsewhere.

Q: with questionable high beam intensity?
A: Highly probable, keeping in mind that it's just a photo, look at the beam-profile gif along the wall. The middle LED provides only 1/3 of total high beam flux. Oh, amazingly even-numbered lumens they are!


Thanks again to Eric Lee at Specialized for providing the Specialized Flux Expert LED Headlight for Derek's review. Eric should now send one to Calcoast-ITL or so, have them measure the photometrics independently. If he does not, someone eventually will, with a random unit bought from a retailer spending one's own money. And the wonderful "Specialized" people we all still remember for their unfortunate "Cafe Roubaix" lawsuit, will just be left to shake, rattle and hope.
 

Pablo0975

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Hi,

Its my video that has been linked to a few post above by Marcturus. (with the black and green epic in the background)

Since posting the video I have had someone comment that I forgot to put the O-ring on the bar that the light slides on to. The o-ring was pre-fitted and is defiantly there, and defiantly not up to the job!

With this in mind I went to halfords and brought a small pack of O-rings, hoping one would be just the right size to fit in the groove, and also be a bit bigger to hold the light unit tighter. Im outta luck with that as even the smallest wouldn't allow the light to slide over it, but while faffing I put the o-ring the bar, then fitted the light so that the o-ring was sandwiched between the light and the part of the mount that fixed to the handlebar mount. The light takes a little bit of a shove to get on but still clicks into place and is now very well dampened.

You can see where I mean in this photo where I was trying it out with an elastic band before I bought the o-rings...

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It does look a lot neater with an o-ring!


Not an ideal solution, especially considering its a £200 unit, but I feel the light is so good I can grudgingly make this compromise.

I understand that spesh are doing uprated O-rings. I have heard that "They are great and fix the problem" to "Its ok for a while, then goes back slack"
 
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